With the virtual shut-down of Russian adoptions coming as the last US agencies lost their licenses to conduct adoptions in that country yesterday, the danger of backlash to news hype shows its ugly face. As the feeding frenzy that followed the Masha Allen case of sexual abuse and degradation flew into high gear, many people in the international adoption community were quick... more

Some people may wonder why I expend so much of my precious and rather limited energy endlessly beating this drum of mine that says 'media manipulation of adoption-related news is extremely dangerous', or a rhythm to that effect. Today's news out of Russia makes my point perfectly, I'm very sad to say.

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Sour Sdey Chhan Thmey !!! (That's Happy New Year in Khmer, the language of Cambodia.) Normally, I post Cambodian-related items on Friday, but with many communities in the US preparing Cambodian New Year (Chaul Chnam Thmey) festivities beginning on Saturday, I thought I'd get the information out early... more

Continued from here, where we were looking at possible changes in adoption from India.

It is beginning to appear that serious efforts to improve the likelihood of international adoption for some Indian children may be in the works. Cara's website (India's Central Adoption Resource Agency) was redesigned for ease of use, and work was beginning on efforts... more

Waves of often contradictory and confusing adoption-related news have been emanating from India over the past couple of months, making getting a handle on the situation there very difficult. For as long as I've been part of the international adoption world, adoption from India has been presented as problematic for non-Indians. Some in the country have even gone on record as being completely against foreigners ever raising Indian children.

Yes, there are those who've adopted from India on the ... more

Continued from here ... While we're talking on things of a helpful nature with political connections, the Australian government is giving $12 million to Cambodia for landmine clearing.

There are around SIX MILLION landmines still scattered around Cambodia, and they kill and maim on a daily basis. Putting them in was a fairly... more

It's Friday, so time to wrap up the week's news from Cambodia for those of you who've come to count on me doing so.

I'll start out by mentioning that my dear friend Gay has arrived safely in Phnom Penh and will be heading out to the provinces soon to build houses with a Tabitha USA group like she did last year.

If you'd like to hear more about her 2006 trip, you can find posts here, and here, where she talks about her visit to the orphanage... more

The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) released a report a few days ago on unsatisfactory conditions in orphanages in Liberia. Again. Sheesh! April must be their "trash Liberian adoption month". I wrote about the same darned thing this time last year!

Apparently,... more

Continued from here ...

Lest anyone get the idea that Cambodia is much more dangerous than its neighbors, take a look at this, that suggests otherwise.

Cambodia has banned its migrant laborers from working in insurgency-plagued southern Thailand due to safety concerns, an official said Thursday.

Thailand's southernmost... more

Continued from here ... Sticking with the good news for a while longer, the latest HIV-AIDS numbers from Cambodia are following the country's downward trend from the past few years.

Even among sex workers the rate has dropped considerably, with 40% infected in 1997 down to 20% today.

UNAIDS co-coordinator... more